A recovering maximalist's attempted journey to minimalism though often distracted by a love of shoes.
Here's my take on life, love, people and everything in between.

Monday, February 2, 2015

Chuck the Cheapskates

I've met a few cheapskates in my life and golly, are they annoying to be around with. I read this article on 10 Types of Friends Who Are Costing You Money and #1 really resonated with me. I don't have much of the other types of friends so I was quite OK, but God, cheapskates really rile me up!

Now, some people might equate cheapskates to people who don't have a lot of money, but I disagree. I think being a cheapskate is more of a mentality. My reference to cheapskates are as follows :

1. People who expect you to pay all the time because you're older / earn more money.

Now, when I was younger and I'd just started working, sometimes people older than me would buy me meals. I used to have a colleague who would insist he pay for all my meals, but I made sure to forcibly buy him back a coffee or punch him into submission sometimes if I really wanted to buy a meal for him. Look here, especially if someone isn't your family, there isn't any obligation or need for him or her to pay. (Unless that person suggests a very expensive place, and you've voiced out your budget beforehand). So it really, really annoys me when people expect me to pay just because I'm older than them, or think I earn more. Now, I used to automatically buy meals for people who are younger than me, especially if I'm only seeing them once or twice, but then I met a girl who expected me to pay for her every single time and she would never, ever offer to pay or even put her hand on her wallet to at least pretend to pay. She was just a huge opportunist, and honestly this made me a whole lot more careful about who I buy meals for. I like buying people meals, but the minute they start expecting it, it just makes me want to throw a pie at their face.

2. People who split the bill exactly to benefit themselves, but halve the bill if it benefits them.

Ok, so say you and a girlfriend both go out for a meal. You order something a little extra, say your portion is 17 bucks and hers is 13. The total bill is 30 dollars, so now you can decide either you want to split it to 15 each, or whether you want to be fairer and go with 17 and 13. So the girl I knew - if she was the one that had ordered the 13 dollar portion, she would plonk down 13 dollars, flat. Now, there's no problem with that, after all, why do you need to pay something extra you didn't eat? But then I began to realise that when the roles were reversed, she would expect me to pay the 15.

See, if you're going to calculate to the dot (which is really fine), then calculate to the dot BOTH WAYS, you moron. Don't shortchange me just because you want to save a few cents but be such a penny pinching money grubber when it suits you.

3. People who just sponge off you

I'm really tired of spongers, and especially spongers who are calculative. You'll meet all kinds of people in your life who want to use you - for your car, your house, your notes, whatever. These people take and take and take, but if ever you ask for anything in return, they're completely unabashed to tell you exactly what you owe them. Case in point - I once had a roommate in university. I had this stash of granola bars that she was always eating from (and sometimes leaving me with an empty box) and she had a stash of candy (which I would eat from too). Then one day, she reminded me (after eating two of my favourite chocolate covered granola bars) that it would be a nice idea if I could replenish her candy jar since I was so good at eating it. Actually, that same girl once asked me to drive her far away to an HSBC ATM machine because she didn't want to use the CIMB ones in university because she would be charged a RM10 service charge on using a different bank, but completely failed to consider my petrol.

I'm not sure what stopped me from saying anything to all these money grubbers and users - a combination of being 'pai seh', maybe a bit of courtesy, and maybe pure stupidity. I think, mostly pure stupidity.

I've decided to disassociate myself from these people - because honestly, when I'm with them it's not fun. I'm in a state of 'high alertness' to make sure I'm not being conned in any way, and then I start turning into a calculative tight fisted meanie myself! It's just goddamn stressful - and I've also realised that some money grubbers are really extremely clever and will find a way to con you still. Example in point - agreeing to share a present, and then conveniently forgetting to ever pay you back. This wasn't the case of the person REALLY forgetting, because this pattern of behaviour has come up quite a few times.

So, bye cheapskates. I'm chucking you into the rubbish bin of my life. Or maybe a discount bin would be a lot more apt.

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Me

Hello :) I'm 27, Malaysian, and currently residing in sunny Singapore! I love makeup and shoes because they make me feel pretty. I've discovered minimalism in July 2013, and am trying to find my way onto a simpler, happier, more fulfilling life.

Why You Should Declutter

When there's too much clutter, you lose sight of what's important.

Physical clutter translates into mental clutter.

After decluttering, I felt a lot lighter and re-energized. I let go of a lot of stuff that had sentimental attachment but no use. I got rid of clothes, books, shoes, and lots of junk.

Here are some benefits to decluttering :

1. You know where everything is. How many times have you went out and bought something new because you've lost the old one?

2. There's a lot more space in your cupboard. I used to have a war with hangers every time I tried stuffing in new clothes.

3. Other people can make use of your stuff. Don't throw them away, donate them to charity homes. You're doing a good deed at the same time!

4. It's easier to tidy things now, it takes less time when you have less things.

5. You're more in control of your surroundings. When you're more organised, you keep track of things better and you're more aware of your surroundings.

There are plenty of other benefits when it comes to decluttering, these are just the top few that are at the top of my head.